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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The House of Blue Glass: A Life of Penelope Lucas

The House of Blue Glass: A Life of Penelope Lucas

Paperback

Biographies GeneralGeneral World History

ISBN10: 1761170376
ISBN13: 9781761170379
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Published: Mar 1 2026
Pages: 384
Weight: 1.15
Height: 0.84 Width: 6.02 Depth: 9.25
Language: English
Acclaimed historian Alan Atkinson - author of the award-winning Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm - pieces together the life of Penelope Lucas and the pivotal role she played in building the Macarthur empire. While she is known as the family governess, Atkinson reveals that Penelope was primarily an accountant whose bookkeeping work made an important difference to the Macarthurs' success.Penelope Lucas came to Australia in 1805, in her thirties, unmarried - she was the first well-educated woman to travel independently from Europe to Australia - and looking forward to living on inherited income. While Elizabeth Macarthur was unsurprisingly upset when her husband, John, arrived back from three years in England with a woman she had never heard of, Penelope went on to live with the Macarthurs for over thirty years and became close friends with Elizabeth.In this revelatory work, Atkinson brings together fifty years of scholarship as he explores the gender dynamics of the Macarthur household and the life of a single woman of means in Georgian England and early colonial Sydney.

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Atkinson, Alan

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General World History